Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
Deirdre
A rude awakening indeed…
“Why can't I feel my legs?” I yelled, noticing that the more I begged my muscles to move, the less they worked. “What have you done to me?”
Kane stood by the bed, his redheaded pixie near him. Another fae dressed in white robes stood opposite them. All three were staring at me.
“Good, you're alive,” Kane replied. “Well, I’ve done more than my share,” he continued. “I'll have the guards bring up some buckets of water so that you may wash off that pond scum. There should be a chamber pot under the bed.”
I glared as he hovered closer. I tried to lift my arm, my leg, but my body refused to respond to any movement.
“Listen carefully,” he said, his voice deepening. “You will be obedient. Escape is not an option. If you decide to try to leave or cause any problems, I have a magical dampener designed just for you, ready to snuff out that ability of yours. This is my home, and you will listen to my commands.”
Using my power, I searched for the roots of the ground, but found nothing. Everything felt muted and distant. I didn't like the disconnected feeling.
“Where am I?” I said, my voice scratchy.
“You are in Caste Castle in the spire.”
I didn't know what that meant.
His mouth curved into a grin. “The spire is a room far from any plant or grass or tree. In here you are just a human, nothing more. Welcome to your new home.”
I hated him.
This would never be my home. I’d find a way to escape.
“See that she's cleaned and she stays in here until she behaves.”
“Of course, Your Majesty.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a key. “This is to the room.”
The handmaiden bowed again, taking the key into her soft hands.
“Anna, with me,” he said to the redheaded pixie.
“Coming, Your Majesty,” she said and flew right beside him.
The two of them left and the door shut, my fate decided.
“You must help me escape,” I said to the fae tending to me.
Liora shook her head. “That is out of the question, my lady.”
She placed her hand on my forehead and closed her eyes. Warmth spread through my body, removing the numbness and sending life back into my limbs. When she finished, all the feeling had returned.
“What did you do?” Sitting up, I flexed my hands.
“It’s one of my gifts.” Her lavender eyes had a golden ring around her irises.
“Are you a light bearer?”
With a soft smile, she shook her head. “Not quite. My power is a manipulation of the elements of aura and light. It allows me to manipulate someone’s aura, fixing certain illnesses.”
Slowly, I sat up. While I could finally move all my limbs, a sluggish fatigue lingered. “Thank you.”
“Of course. Is there anything I can get for you?”
“No.” I shook my head, my voice cracking.
She bowed and then left.
The door closed once again, the click of the lock sliding into place.
Holding a hand to my forehead, the past day's events rushed through my thoughts. Everything happened so fast. The pain of Crispin's death cut inside me.
Tears streamed down my face.
Was it possible he could have survived?
No… I watched the light leave his blue eyes… something I will never forget.
He’s really gone.
Large rectangular stained-glass windows broke up the circular stone room.
I couldn't be that far from a tree. It was difficult for me to sense any part of nature. I went to the window, looking for a latch, realizing that there was no way to open it.
They weren't windows for air or a breeze. The stuffiness of the room, the dust, it made my nose tingle.
Was this where I was supposed to spend my life?
Was this what I had dedicated so many years of my life at the temple for? To be a queen in a tower? Not that I would ever marry Kane now.
I looked out the window, seeing only clouds.
How far up was I?
Maybe I can climb down if there’s a vine. Some ivy I could use to escape.
There wasn't much in the room, but there was a very sturdy-looking wooden chair.
I grabbed the chair and picked it up. It immediately fell back, my muscles wobbling.
Dragging it over to the window, I looked around the room.
Hopefully, I was too far away from anybody to hear. And if not, I didn't actually care.
I gripped the top of the chair and lifted it.
My arms shook, everything in me depleted.
I reared back and smashed it into the glass.
Colorful pieces broke apart and shattered, some falling into the room.
Others out the window. There were big, jagged pieces where I would need to climb out.
I grabbed the blanket off the bed, wrapped it around my arm, and punched out the remaining wedges.
Once I'd cleared the glass away, I glanced outside.
All Father save me.
Clouds stretched out before me. I couldn't even see the forest or mountains below. It was as if I lived among the clouds. A castle hidden in the sky.
I stuck my head out, the wind rushing by. I looked both ways. But I couldn't see anything. The way that the spire sat was at the very edge part of the castle, taller and farther from any of the smaller spires. It was too foggy to see anything.
Closing my eyes, I searched for that warm feeling, that inexplicable sense of nature that I could never explain to anyone who didn't wield the same power as me.
Not a blade of grass. Not a lonesome flower.
Kane was right. Here, I was nothing.
A breeze pushed into the room, kicking up dust and making me cold.
I walked backward, hitting the bed, and sat down, still holding the blanket wrapped around my arm.
A roar sounded close. I ran to the window and was met with a pair of angry dragon eyes.
Shuffling back toward the bed, my heart racing, I realized Kane was right about one thing.
Escape was not an option, at least not on my own. Everyone had enemies. I just needed to find Kane’s.
Wind rushed in. The cold, empty room suddenly made me feel barren.
Shivering, I gripped the scratchy blanket and wrapped it around my shoulders.
A numbness creeped into my thoughts. Into my muscles.
The door swung open, and a guard rushed in, followed by Liora.
“We heard a crash.” Her gaze went to the shattered glass.
I wouldn’t apologize for trying to escape. Instead, I looked away from her, tugging the blanket closer and pretending this stony tower wasn’t my new home.
“Get someone to clean the glass,” Liora said to the guard.
She gave more orders, but I became lost in my thoughts…
What went wrong?
Replaying the day’s events, I wondered what I could’ve done differently.
But I’d tried to stop the fighting.
Why didn’t Crispin listen?
I was so angry at him because he was gone when he didn’t have to be.
I dug my fingers into my palms.
Closing my eyes, I searched for that familiar tingle of life… Nothing.
Not having my magic turned the numbness into an aching grief. In one day, I’d lost my entire world, and I didn’t understand why.
Why now?
Kane had years to claim me. Why had he waited until I was happy?
Why had he allowed me to believe that my life in the valley with Crispin was my future?
I hugged my knees to my chest as the icy wind blew into the room.
Liora stood by the window I’d broken, trying to adjust the tapestry one of the guards had hung to cover the incoming draft.
A wooden box sat on the table. I didn't need to ask my handmaiden what was in there. Kane’s threat from the previous night replayed over and over, and after breaking one of his pretty windows, I was sure that the collar was going to be my new permanent accessory.
Even though the temple had prepared me for the worst, to have my magic clamped down like some beast was unthinkable.
I didn't even treat my animals this way.
I glared at the box, knowing that if I wanted to enact my revenge, because I would never forgive him for what he did, that I would have to play nice, at least for a little bit.
Let him think he defeated me. Let him think that from now on I will be the subservient wife.
It's not as if he could read my mind and see my true thoughts.
How I fantasized about taking one of his black blades and shoving it in his blacker heart.
Liora went to the table, grabbing the tray of pastries. “When was the last time you ate something?”
I didn't want to think about the last time I did anything.
I grabbed one of the pastries. The flaky crumbs stuck to my fingers. Taking a small bite, I forced the food down.
Crispin needed a proper burial. He was left on the edge of a cliff, his body open to the elements. The thought of him out there alone…
The bed shifted.
Liora sat down, looking at me with those light-lavender eyes, beautiful and enchanting. “Is there anything I can do that might ease your pain?”
“He just left him there. Broken and alone and… gone.” The pastry crumbled in my grip. “My husband needs to be buried.”
“Your husband?”
“Kane showed up at our home in a valley west of the Crusted Mountains. We tried to get away… and then.” I choked on the words. “I don’t understand why Kane came now. Crispin and I had spent the past year building a life together. With our garden, our animals…”
Boots.
I need to get him. He won’t understand what’s happening.
“I can't take you there, but if you can give us a location, we will find Crispin and ensure he is buried properly.”
“It should be me,” I sobbed.
“Why don't you write a note with final words that can be buried with him? It may give you closure.”
I shook my head. “No, no, just make sure he's not left out for the vultures. He deserves more than that.”
I wiped my eyes, the tears freely falling. “And my animals, my donkey…”
My voice cracked, the emotion choking anything I wanted to say. All of my animals were dear to my heart, but Boots and I shared a special bond. He wouldn't understand what happened.
“Is there any way you can bring my donkey here?
I'll do anything. Please. I won't break any more windows.
I'll eat. I'll do anything if he can be brought here safely, and my other animals are taken care of.
His name is Boots. He's got gray hair and white right here down his nose, and his feet, and he's the sweetest—”
“Yes,” she said, reaching over and grabbing my hand.
“What if he won't let you?”
“Kane doesn't involve himself with daily affairs. There are many of us in his court. All of us with roles to play. I'll make sure Boots is brought here safely.”
“What if he tries to punish me?” I looked at the broken window.
“Don't worry about a simple window. I know His Majesty seems cruel, but he takes care of his people.”
“He seems cruel?” I pulled away from her. “He killed my husband and then kidnapped me.”
I moved off the bed, needing to put distance between me and my handmaiden. I folded my arms, turning my back on her.
“Allow me to help you dress for the day. I will take you downstairs to the gardens.”
“The king put me in a tower to keep me away from nature.”
“You can wear the collar, then,” she added.
“I’m never wearing that. I'll stay here.”
“Very well. I will arrange everything this afternoon and return later. If you require anything, pull that bell.” She pointed to a chain running up the wall that disappeared through holes right above the door. “It will alert the servants that you need something, and they will retrieve me.”
“Thank you,” I said.
Liora bowed before leaving.
When her fading steps disappeared, I walked over to the table with the wooden box. I opened it and on a red velvet pillow sat a choker made of leather with a single dark-red gem threaded in the center.
“So this is a magical dampener.”
I had read about them, but never seen one. Because I was raised in the temple, I spent most of my days reading ancient tomes.
I could break the gem right now, though I’d read the gems were indestructible, infused and crafted with various elemental magic and argonite crystals, and it was that unique mixture that muted all magic. The vibrant-red gem pulsed with power.
Magical dampeners were powerful artifacts, mostly used by the Magi Council who oversaw all magic in Saol. It was how they controlled prisoners.
Is that what I was now?
Had Kane always planned to imprison me? To keep me a collared pet?
When had I become such a threat to the Deathless One?
A folded note sat next to the collar in the box.
Thorn,
If you desire to see more than stone walls, wear this pretty necklace.
I made it just for you.
Do not try to destroy it. I have more than one.
I ripped up the note and threw it across the room. He was going to pay. Immortal or not, I would find a way to escape him forever.
Just as I had the thought, the note knit back together, this time with a different message.
Every action has an opposite and equal reaction, the note said. Thoughts have the power to destroy, but I promise this thinking is only hurting yourself.
I went to tear up the note again, despite how futile I knew it would be, and my fingertips burned. Instantly, I dropped it and stared down at the cursed piece of paper.
The words on the paper changed again.
Tsk, tsk. You’ll soon learn, Deirdre, that no one here is above consequences for their actions.